The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for automated thermal imaging of combustor liners and other products; and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for automated non-destructive evaluation (NDE) thermal imaging tests of combustor liners and other products.
Combustor liners are made at a high cost and are used in severe environments. An advanced ceramic matrix composite (CMC) liner is the single most important structural component expected to be widely used in land and air based heat engines. Because of their high costs, considerable effort has been devoted to characterization during processing to produce defect free components, as well as intermittently during engine operation to assess their lifetimes. Current non-destructive evaluation (NDE) testing is conducted in the laboratory with all testing steps conducted manually. The entire process is very time consuming and sometimes inaccurate, for example, due to misalignment resulting from manual positioning. Combustor liner characterization is critical for manufacturers to improve processing technique. Also combustor liner characterization is important to assess liner lifetime.
Non-destructive testing using transient thermography which relies upon the transfer of heat through an object over a period of time is known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,603, issued Jan. 27, 1998 to Ringermacher et al. and entitled xe2x80x9cNONDESTRUCTIVE TESTING:TRANSIENT DEPTH THERMOGRAPHYxe2x80x9d discloses a non-destructive testing technique and system using transient depth thermography.
In known testing arrangements, all steps in the testing are conducted manually, including positioning of the test sample, data acquisition, and data compilation. As a result, considerable time is required for completion of the testing. Also misalignment problems often occur in such manual testing arrangements.
A principal object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for automated non-destructive evaluation (NDE) thermal imaging tests of combustor liners and other products.
It is another object of the invention to provide such method and apparatus for automated non-destructive evaluation (NDE) thermal imaging tests of combustor liners and other products that is fully automated, generally fast, and accurate.
It is another object of the invention to provide such method and apparatus for automated non-destructive evaluation (NDE) thermal imaging tests of combustor liners and other products that is fully automated and acquires complete combustor liner data without human intervention.
It is another object of the invention to provide such method and apparatus for automated non-destructive evaluation (NDE) thermal imaging tests of combustor liners and other products substantially without negative effect and that overcome many of the disadvantages of prior arrangements.
In brief, a method and apparatus are provided for automated non-destructive evaluation (NDE) thermal imaging tests of combustor liners and other products. The apparatus for automated NDE thermal imaging testing of a sample includes a flash lamp positioned at a first side of the sample. An infrared camera is positioned near a second side of the sample. A linear positioning system supports the sample. A data acquisition and processing computer is coupled to the flash lamp for triggering the flash lamp. The data acquisition and processing computer is coupled to the infrared camera for acquiring and processing image data. The data acquisition and processing computer is coupled to the linear positioning system for positioning the sample for sequentially acquiring image data.